the pain and hardship she and their twin children have suffered. two jurors covered their faces and cried. before that, parents of the victims told the jury how their children have been affected. the parents of the victim who seemed most confident on the stand said she has anxiety and trouble eating and sleeping. her father said quote, she had no concept of the evil that can happen in the world. the evil that happened to her. it was inconceivable to her that someone could do something to her. she keeps saying, he had a choice. it doesn't matter how sick he was, he had a choice. the mother of the other girl said quote, she had to deal with embarrassing questions. she shows a distrust of strangers. the stress and sense of guilt has been overwelming. her innocence and trust has been taken from her for ever. the prosecutor told the jury that michael gardner was supposed to be the one protecting them from evil, instead she said, quote, he was the evil that came in the night. he's the one that violated

their trust. they will for ever be tainted by the fact that they were violated. she asked the jury to send michael gardner away for a very long time. now both counts of sexual battery carry a 1 to 20 year sentence and the object penetration carries a 5 to life sentence. the jury is obviously having difficulty reaching a unanimous decision on the sentence. in fact, they are just back from a 20 minute break they took and they are trying to come to some consensus on that. when they have it, we'll report back to you. i'm peggy fox reporting live. back to you. >> it's been a gut wrenching case from the beginning. thank you. anita. >> we are following breaking news out of southern california where former nfl star, junior seau is dead. after an emergency call from a woman who said she was his girlfriend. they found the 43-year-old with what police believe to be a self-inflicted gun shot wound

to the chest. seau was a probowler and played most of his career with the san diego chargers. right now, hundreds of people have lined the streets near his home. his grief stricken mother spoke to reporters about an hour ago. >> he called me a home kill. him and his daddy -- why you never telling me? i pray to god. >> seau leaves behind four children and an ex-wife. a 24-year-old man says he is the one who started this fire that left more than 100 people homeless in the silver spring apartment complex yesterday and put two firefighters in the hospital and as scott broom tells us, it

appears all of these innocent victims are merely collateral damage from an attack the suspect made on his own family. >> it was a fire that could easily have killed had most people not been at work at 2:20 yesterday afternoon. today as stunned homeless residents of the round hill apartments off terrace drive tried to pick up the pieces, they learned this was no accident. >> it was pretty shocking. >> abraham turned himself into montgomery county police early today and admitted he's the one who set the fire. the target of the arson, the top four corner apartment where his family was living. the same apartment he grew up in from elementary school through graduation at bethesda chevy chase high school. investigators have not said what his motive may have been. >> completely idiotic way of getting back at somebody, because you are hurting. >> it was a particularly vicious fire that spread quickly through a shared attic

space up and down the building. the damage tally, 100 homeless, 34 units burned out, 1 million in damage. two firefighters hurt. >> i don't know what could have caused him to do it. he was only 24 years old from what i hear. it's sad, all the people that are out of housing right now. >> the suspect in this case is now charged with first-degree arson. he is behind bars and he makes his first court appearance tomorrow. in silver spring, scott broom, 9news now. >> and the red cross has set up a shelter for homeless residents at the community center and department managers are offering units that are owned by the same company. it may not look like it where you are, but the threat of storms hangs over our area. topper shutt is in the weather center to tell us more. >> they're to the west of town, but they are going to be moving southeastward, so we are looking at a dry commute home for the immediate metro area. these storms, the ones that

develop could be heavy. let's start with live doppler 9,000. we left the temperatures on for a second. you see the 60s out to the east and north of us and you see the 70s around leesburg and back into fairfax county. look at the 80s down toward warrenton and fredericksburg. this frontal system is bisecting us and that's why we are looking for the potential of big thunderstorms. that's going to be the focus of big thunderstorms. right around and generally right around this area as we go through the evening hours. if you're in fauquier county and loudoun county, we're looking at big storms. this is to the north of winchester. it's moving off to the south and east and it has some heavy rain denoted there in the red. rain fall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. this is going to roll right to the south and to the east. it's moving east, southeast at 20. and it is headed toward lee town at 5:05. rock hall about 5:14. and crown estates about 5:25.

right now, they are few and far between. most to the west or straddling i-81. we will keep a close eye throughout the evening. back to you. >> thanks, topper. newt out, romney is in. newt gingrich buried his hopes for the white house today. it came just hours after mitt romney turned from national security to start hammering the ft. president on jobs. bruce leshan was there for both events and joins us live where gingrich drew a decent crowd. huh bruce? >> reporter: the press corps abandoned gingrich weeks ago. he is $4 million in debt. former fans were blasting him for keeping this secret service detail that had been costing taxpayers about $40,000 a day. he is promising now to campaign for mitt romney, but he has already given the obama

campaign plenty of ammunition against the all but certain republican nominee. >> leaving behind 1700 people. >> the obama campaign rapid response team was up with the video of newt's slaps, hours before the hard charging former speaker had even dropped out. >> as a man who wants to run for the president of united states who can't be honest with the american people. why should we expect him to level about anything? >> in the steamy ballroom where gingrich let the air out of his run. >> today, i'm suspending the campaign. >> reporter: the subdued excandidate made clear he will support his former rival. >> i am asked sometimes, is mitt romney conservative enough? compared to barack obama. this is a choice between mitt romney and the most radical president in american history. >> romney was just a few miles away in an even hotter, more cramped and steamier warehouse

in shantilly focusing on the president's record on job creation. >> it was the most antismall business administration i have seen at carter. >> tuesday, romney had highlighted national security and 9/11 with former new york mayor, ruely giuliani. had he be upstaged by the president's surprise visit to afghanistan. romney pivoted back to the economy. his wife at his side and women business owners behind him. >> people ask me, what would you do to get the economy going? i say look at what the president has done and do the opposite. >> reporter: now u.s.a. today washington bureau chief, susan page, tells me she thinks virginia will be the biggest battleground of all the battleground states in the fall. romney is now off to a banquet for big money donors at the

pentagon city ritz. governor, potential vice presidential candidate, bob mcdonnell at his side. president obama is planning a huge rally on saturday at bcu in richmond. anita. >> we are just getting started. bruce leshan, thank you. lesli. the chinese government made a huge decision today. the government says chin and his family may live in china and live a normal life. now there's word that chin fears for his safety. he was reunited with his family at a hospital after escaping from house arrest more than a week ago. he was treated for minor injuries he suffered during his escape. a chinese official confirms that chin asked for protection at the u.s. embassy in beijing. the staff agreed to help him on humanitarian grounds. the caps looking for home cooking for tonight's game three of the stanley cup

series. and kristen berset is live from the verison center where they are warming up the stove. this is a big game, kristen. >> the caps have a chance to take control of the series and kind of recapture some of that home ice advantage that they kind of have lacked so far in the post season. we saw alex ovechkin reemerge monday night, scoring the game winning goal in new york to tie the series up at 1 game a piece, despite playing the lowest post season minutes of his career. but that may very well not be the case tonight. at practice this morning, he was reunited with nicklas backstrom on the first line. this is where the two played in the post season all throughout bruce's tenure here in washington. if that lineup sticks, that familiarity could bode well and the goals, he was assisted by backstrom. >> it's nice.

>> we should know each other. we blame each other for a long time. and i mean, we have to go out and do our job out there and make sure. >> i don't know who is playing with who yet. see what happens. >> and coming up a little later in sports, sky will join me right here to talk about that change. plus, the search of alex ovechkin. that's coming up later in sports. >> go caps go. thanks, kristen. we're going to introduce you to possibly the national zoo's most talented resident. also ahead, new video never seen before showing a deadly boat crash on the delaware river. but up next, charges in the hazing death of a florida a and m university drum major.

we are following a developing story out of florida. that is where charges are being filed five months after the hazing death of a florida a and m university drum major. >> more than a dozen people are being charged under florida's hazing law. >> authorities in orange county florida announced charges against 13 people in connection with the hazing death of 26-year-old robert champion. >> the majority of those charges are hazing resulting in death. felonies of the third degree.

champion was a drum major in the marching 100. florida a and m's marching band was found unresponsive on a bus on november 19 of last year. he died a few hours later. investigators say he was beaten during a hazing ritual. >> no one could have expected that his college experience would include being pummeled to death. >> authorities say there was no one fatal blow. champion suffered bruises, he went into shock and died of internal bleeding. some of those facing charges have not been arrested and more charges could be filed. >> let me strongly state that i urge anyone who has facts about this homicide to come forth and tell the whole truth. >> champion's parents say the charges are long overdue. >> when someone loses their life, i think they should be punished. >> family sued the bus company, fabulous coach lines and they are planning to sue the school. >> they will have to clean

house. they will have to step up and do what they know is the right thing to do. >> just this week, two music professors were fired, dick brennan for cbs news. >> the band's director has been on paid administrative leave. his lawyer is requesting full reinstatement at the university. >> a former aid to john edwards. josh told the court the former presidential candidate was red in the face and cursed him when he told edwards people were becoming aware of his extramarital affair. he recounted his first meeting with the wealthy philanthropist, known as rachel bunny. she gave edwards more than $700,000 to hide his affair. the funds became known as bunny money by those involved in the coverup. and the possible blow for the prosecution in the roger clemens perjury trial. it comes courtesy of his former teammate and friend, andy

petit. petit told the court he may have misunderstood clemens when he heard he used human growth hormones. there was a 50/50 chance he may have understood him. clemens is charged with lying to congress about using performance enhancing drugs. our national zoo, it's got talent. a 36-year-old asian elephant likes to play the harmonica. take a listen. ♪ [ music ] >> that's some serious lung power. the elephant keeper says she likes to make noises by flapping her ears and rubbing her leg up and down shrubs. she was a gift and a the mother of a ten-year-old elephant at the zoo. and the made for tv movie

is on the way. wow, nice outside today, top, but it depends on where you were. >> there's not a lot right now, but they will become more numerous. those that develop could be hefty. it's what we talk about, paying the price for the warm air. let's start with a live look outside. it's our live weather cam and it is brought to you by michael and son. downtown is nice. notice it's 69 downtown and we talked about this monday that we get that easterly components of the wind. it keeps temperatures down and the frontal system bisects the metro area. it's much warmer to the south and west of us than it is in the immediate metro area. dew point 60 and the pressure is steady at 30.08 inches of mercury. satellite picture, radar combined. we have some pretty big thunderstorms now. these are the ones that we're concerned about from winchester towards hagerstown. notice they have a lot of lightning with them and that's as dangerous as anything else. when you hear thunder, you should go indoors. don't take a chance.

we'll talk about live doppler 9,000. we first took a look at this storm in hagerstown. we don't see hail, but we see rain fall rates 1 to 2 inches per hour. north of clear spring up into pennsylvania. and another activity. it's two separate storms. they are all moving off to the south and east. get ready, you will get hammered with heavy rain. we'll work our way down to the south and this is a big storm, too. just to the east of winchester. it's moving off to the south and east headed toward perserville, headed toward rock croft at 5:33. apple glen at 5:33. anywhere from berryville to upperville, you're right in that path and it's going to be heavy rain and possibly some strong gusty winds. right now, no warnings out or watches. we will keep you posted with that. all right, temperatures, look at this. 81 in manassas. 74 in reston. and 69 downtown.

we have a wide range of temperatures and that's why the severe weather and the activity will favor where it's warmer. that's where the front is west of town. fauquier county, loudoun county, and points west. that's the deal. warm but unsettled. some storms. yeah, some could be heavy. warm thursday with, you guessed it, more showers and thunderstorms. and warmer friday with more showers and thunderstorms. for tonight, mostly cloudy and warm. thunderstorms possible. some could be heavy. and then for tomorrow morning, we do it all over again. returning partly cloudy, warm, an isolated shower or thunderstorm in the morning. 50s and 60s and by afternoon, they fire up again. it will be warm. high temperatures around 80 but with showers and thunderstorms once again. next seven days. we're looking at temperatures back into the mid 80s on friday with more storms. more storms on saturday, low 80s. cold front goes through. got to keep a chance of a left over shower on sunday. but nice day. nice on monday and more showers

and thunderstorms possible on tuesday with highs in the upper 70s to near 80. so, right now no warnings. i'm concerned about that storm to the north. but we'll keep you posted and right now the immediate metro area will have a dry commute home. >> sounds good. thanks, top. coming up, a story straight out of the movie. a parking lot owner caught on tape accused of taking a customer's car for a spin. but up next, caught on tape, a montreal cab driver facing charges after an altercation with clients gets really ugly.

caught on tape, a cab driver accused of running over a man and leaving the scene after this dispute. it started when one of the passengers got out and slammed the door. then a group of people start yelling at the driver. a crowd gathers. some people start throwing things at the cab. one man is seen kicking the driver's door on that third kick, the cab driver accelerates and runs over the man. you see somebody up on top there. now the individual is in critical condition. the cab driver, his lawyer says his client was fearing for his life. that's why he drove away. police are investigating

exactly what happened. federal safety investigators have released new video of a deadly duck boat crash in philadelphia. the release comes just days before a wrongful death lawsuit goes to court. two students were killed when a barge slammed into the boat on the delaware river about two years ago. attorneys for the victim's families claim that instead of helping passengers put life jackets on, a mate jumped off the boat to safety as the victims disappear under the water. >> every parent wants to know why their child died. secondly, they want to make sure it never happens again. >> the duck boat company is refusing to comment because of the pending litigation. >> from florida folks, it reads like a scene out of the movie, ferris bueler's day off. taking his customers out on joyrides. local tv station found that he was hitting the road in a brand-

new corvette was left there. under cover video shows that he peeled out on some dirt roads. he ran his errands, even let the vet outside his house overnight. when a tv reporter confronted the parking lot owner, he said i don't know what you're talking about. >> later that night, eventually parking it at applebees. showed he parked it at his home overnight. >> that was track from the reporter from that tv station. that was not him talking. however, we know that he continued to deny that he drove the corvette even when the reporter showed him the video of himself behind the wheel. it now appears his parking lot has been shut down. a pennsylvania waitress is under arrest tonight accused of stealing jewelry from the home of a grieving man. police say carrie pretented she just wanted to deliver food to this widower and he believed

her because he was a regular customer at her restaurant. now investigators say she admitted stealing julyly that belonged to the man's late wife. a doctor and her baby attacked. clinging to the vehicle, but carjackers dragged the mother for two miles. twenty years later, the wounds are still fresh and up next for the first time, tells his family's tragic story.

only on 9, a young mother preparing to take her daughter to her first day of preschool met a fate so cruel, it's hard for people to comprehend. this vicious crime became the singular event that would determine the term, carjacking. the wounds are still fresh. in september of 1992, dr. vasu endured the kind of brutality none of us want to talk about. tonight, her husband, steve, speaks out about the wife he loved, the daughter he nearly lost, and new details about that awful day twenty years ago. >> this is serena. >> for 22 month old serena basu, september 8, 1992, was a day of new beginnings. the first day of preschool. >> pam was talking to her. >> the daughter they adopted was about to have another milestone. >> bye bye. >> they got in the car and

they went and i stopped taping. >> she and the new babysitter were going to meet pam and serena at their new school. >> the same shoe dr. pam basu she wore that morning. she would only drive 300 feet from her savage maryland home that day before she was attacked by two men at a stop sign who wanted her 1990 bmw. >> at that stop sign, rodney solomon punches him through the open window. >> a moment by moment account of that chilling encounter called fatal destiny. >> bernard miller who was standing over in the median ran across to help solomon get pam out of the car. >> pam jumped up, reached through the window in a frantic effort to get to her daughter, but her arm got caught in the

driver's side seat belt and soon she would be dragged by the two men who sped off in her car. >> she is screaming, my baby, my baby. one of the eyewitnesses said he saw her tumble forward and her head struck the ground. >> this trail would last for nearly two miles. solomon and miller dragged pam to her death, they stopped here, stepped over pam's body, and tossed her daughter out on the side of the road. luckily someone driving behind them got the toddler to safety, but no one could save pam. >> it was very horrific. >> retired officer, jody lilly, was the first on the scene. she found pam's mangled body. >> had i been on my game, i would have picked something up. >> in this video never broadcast before as pam put serena in her car seat, rodney solomon walks by. steve had unknowingly picked up

his wife's killers on camera. >> maybe it was because of the nature of the day, you know, i got careless. >> pam's two killers were captured after a reign of terror that shook the d.c. area and the nation. >> a carjacking turned into a killing. >> throw a baby out a window. >> rodney solomon and bernard miller were arrested and put on trial. miller thought for sure he would get away with murder. >> he said they're going to find me not guilty. >> these guys have no remorse, no sense of what they have done. >> solomon and miller were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. >> steve and serena were left to live a life without their beloved pam. >> it took a long time for all of us to, you know, keep moving again. >> nearly twenty years later, steve struggles with the senseless violence that stole

his wife and left broken families in its wake. >> it was very small. >> he clings to the good memories. >> this is what the happiest day of your life? >> certainly one of them. >> steve knows pam would be proud of their daughter, serena. he hopes his wife will be remembered for more than just one tragic moment in time. >> she was probably the smartest person in the room. and she acted like she was just a kid. really loving mother and had a lot of heart. she had a lot of heart. >> pam and steve's daughter, serena, will graduate from college later this year. rodney solomon got life in prison. plus 60 years for killing pam. bernard miller got life with the possibility of parole because he was 16 at the time of the crime. >> last night at 11:00, we were talking about how brutal this was. let's not forget pam's life. >> absolutely. she had an incredible life. she was a research scientist.

she published about air pollution concerns. she was respected by doctors and scientists both here and outside the country and her husband talked about how she started teaching serena the periodic table as soon as she could babble. she is a young woman who is following in her mother's footsteps and pam desperately wanted to adopt a child. she and serena connected immediately when they met in india. and the people who had the opportunity to know pam the longest say serena is so much like her mother. beautiful, strong, and of course very, very smart. >> and you know, amazing story there, lesli, and it brought a lot of attention all over the country to this type of crime, which hadn't been seen so much before. >> hasn't been seen. the other thing is, it challenged everything we knew about safety and carjacking. this happened in -- not in an urban area. it was a very quiet neighborhood. we tried to find some statistics about carjackings

across the country, but the fbi says they don't keep that kind of detailed information. what i can tell you is one month after this happened in 1992, this crime was so prolific that then president george h.w. bush signed a law, a statute basically saying that carjacking would be a federal offense. >> wow. thank you lesli. we aught to note that the most recent carjacking happened last night in college park around 115 in the 4500 block. a 35 yeerl 35-year-old man was assaulted. a college park bouncer is facing several charges connected to a brutal beating saturday night. police say 28-year-old marcus plumber became physical when a customer became physical with a customer thrown out of rj bentley's and that customer tried to enter. plumber was arrested this morning and charged with

reckless endangerment and assault. the beating victim, an airman and a member of the honor guard. police say he's in the hospital in stable condition. coming up, a mother arrested accused of burning her young daughter in a tanning booth. >> but up next, disturbing behavior caught on tape. two school employees under arrest and losing their job. and don't forget, we're always on at wusa9.com. stay with us, we'll be right back.

caught on tape, some shocking video captured on board a school bus in arlington, south carolina. two school employees were arrested after surveillance video shows them hitting a ten- year-old special needs student. it looks like the adult hit the boy in the face and then pushed him while trying to put on a safety harness. those two employees are charged with simple assault and battery. the darlington county school district are on administrative leave without pay. fetch his three-year-old daughter. when he got to the west port country day school monday evening to pick up his daughter, the building was

locked. she called his wife and called the teacher. when he heard crying, he broke a window to get to his daughter. >> i had no idea where she was. i had no idea if someone took her. i didn't know if i was going to see my daughter again at that point. it was a horrible feeling. >> a staff member says the little girl was incorrectly checked off as having been picked up. police and child welfare are investigating. they have found a new preschool. a new jersey mom is charged with child endangerment accused of taking her six-year-old girl into a standup tanning booth. take a look at patricia. you can see that perhaps she has some tanning issues. police say they were called to her daughter's school last month because the fair skinned kindergartener was hurting. she was experiencing pain because she had a sunburn. but patricia said she was outside. >> yes, she does go tanning with mommy, but not in the booth. >> do you like to suntan?

>> no. >> no, because gruesome and crazy is not a good combination. she said, i go tanning with mommy. new jersey law prohibits anyone under the age of 14 from using tanning salons. >> that is a tanning don't. >> nightmare. >> uh-huh. >> coming up, a new study shows the united states has one of the highest rates of premature births. i'm kristin fisher in gaithersburg where 6,000 people are coming here over three days to see this man. it is said that his silent gaze can transform lives. we're going to go inside one of his gazing sessions coming up. it's time to get going.

to have the energy to turn a "to do" list into a memory. to put more giddy-up in our get-along. to keep stepping up even in overtime. it's time to start gellin' with dr. scholl's... ... and mix a little more hop in our hip hop. thanks to the energizing support and cushioning of dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles, your feet will feel so good... ... you'll want to get up and go. ♪ ♪

[ male announcer ] virtual wallet can help you be that person who's good with money. see what's free to spend. move money with a slide. save with a shake. feel good about your decisions. we have breaking news in the michael gardner trial. a jury just come back with sentencing information. peggy fox has been out at the courthouse all day long. what's the latest? >> the jury just returned a

sentence of 22 years. earlier today, that jury found michael gardner guilty of sexually abusing two young girls who were at his daughter's slumber party last june. now another count, they could not agree on and there was a mistrial declared. i'll have more on that and a verdict and the evidence that the jury relied upon coming up at 6:00. back to you, lesli. >> all right peggy, thanks. apparently there's a lot of horseplay going on here in d.c. five cities in the metro area made kaboom's list. the nonprofit recognized more than 200 cities nationwide that take unique steps to increase the unique playgrounds. four cities in maryland, capital heights, laurel, and takoma park. got to love good playgrounds. >> big fan of the monkey bars. do they still have those? >> they put a lot of extra

cushiony stuff underneath. >> we fall. skinned knees, worn like a badge of honor. >> all right, moving on. we do have a couple showers and thunderstorms on radar. they are few and far between, but those that develop can be hefty and that's going to be the pattern. let's take a live look outside. looking out clouds in town, but it's quiet in terms of radar. temperatures 69. got a wide range of temperatures because the warm front is back to our south. so, we're not quite in the warm sector immediately in town anyway. winds east, southeast at 10:00. we talked about this on monday and tuesday. we'll keep temperatures down and force that warm front back to the south and west and that's exactly what it has done. through hagerstown, just into extreme western montgomery county and bisecting fairfax county. this is where the focus has been and will continue to be for the next several hours. notice all the lightning around

hagerstown and big time lightning toward winchester. so, that's as dangerous as anything else. go indoors. all right, live doppler 9,000. we'll start up here with this storm in hagerstown. i think this had hail in it, it crossed over from pennsylvania into maryland and looking at pretty good rains in williamsport. the storms essentially are all moving southeast at a good clip. about 20 miles an hour. this is severe storm because of the potential of hail. headed toward swan pond at 5:56, pennsylvania toe mack valley farms at 6:09 and mercersville at 6:09 as well. we're going to move further south. also going to run into berketsville. heavy rain is a certainty and it may have hail. heavy rain, no doubt, rain fall rates 1 to 2 inches per hour. this is quite a storm now. this looks like hail to me to the south of blue monte.

and the very least, you're going to have street flooding with this. rain fall rates 1 to 2 inches per hour. this is moving off to the south and east. duck south of perserville, but it's headed toward upperville and really going to cross 15 and cross 52. probably stay west of ashburn. moving off to the southeast at 31 miles per hour. a good clip. get ready for hail and possibly some hail and heavy rains south of blue monte. temperatures, look at this. it's 73 in reston. 59 in bethesda. only 67 in beltsville. sot warm front is definitely south and east of us. here's the deal. warm, but unsettled. some thunderstorms. some could be heavy. warm tomorrow with showers and storms and warmer on friday with yes, more showers and thunderstorms. for tonight, mostly cloudy and warm. some thunderstorms. some could be heavy. low temperatures 58 to about 64. now the next seven days.

looks like this. warmer air on friday with thunderstorms. 85. more storms on saturday. temperature about 82. maybe a left over shower on saturday, 74. and in good shape monday. more storms possible tuesday and wednesday. so, right now only a couple storm s on radar. >> a lot of lightning and thunder on that seven-day. >> in less than two hours, the puck drops at verison center in game teleof the stanley cup eastern conference semifinal. >> this is a big opportunity for the caps. the tie with the rangers, one a piece. this is their chance to take the lead. kristen berset is live at verison. are you, kristen? >> i'm ready to rock the red. this has been an exciting post season for the caps. heart pounding, nail biting, and i'm sure it's only going to continue. they are tied up. big game. they have a chance to take control of this series. we saw them play some inspired hockey monday night.

tie the series up at one game a piece. everyone is stepping up their game. who of course scored the game winner. despite playing the fewest minutes of his career. now it's all about carrying that over to tonight's game. joining me now here at the verison center from 106.7 the fan. you were at practice today. we're in a familiar spot. tide coming home. how important is it for them to change their fortune and win a post season, more than one post season game at home? >> they really have to. if they win both, they're in good shape. if they split them, they'll have to steal another one in new york and that's not an easy place to play. they're in a lot of trouble. the next two games will say a lot. >> this time last week, alex ovechkin getting dogged for his play. he showed up monday to get that game winner. have we seen a turn around from him? >> he did go against the boston bruins. tw of the best defensive

players in the league. of course he wasn't going to put on his normal points. he had six points, he has three goals, which is tied for the team lead. goals with the caps. so he hasn't been horrible. you have to remember, he's not going to play a lot of minutes if the caps are ahead. they were nursing a 2-1 lead. dale hunter coaches with the situation in the game. so if the caps are leading, you're not going to see a lot. the caps are losing or tied, you're going to see a lot of him. he didn't play a lot of minutes because of the situation. nothing else to read into it and still, alex ovechkin had a pretty good goal last game. >> that was exciting. the morning he was reunited with nicklas backstrom. they haven't played together in that line under dale hunter. how big will that be for tonight's game? >> dale hunter said it's a game-time decision. i know, shocker. but it's very important. they played together all through their careers. they know each other very well and it should free him up

because nicklas backstrom is the best two-way player and he is really good passer and should be able to get him going. if anybody can do it, it will be nicklas backstrom. >> we have also seen real quickly, a resurgence of nick who has been benched. what is it that he has come around right now? >> it is that entire fourth line. we saw joe ward at the game winner in game seven in boston. they have been playing great. you have seen them get a lot of minutes. they have been very good defensively. their one goal the other night, so yeah, that entire line is really rolling. a great thing for the caps to have four lines that could score. >> all right, he'll be back with me here at 11:00 after the game. back to you guys in the studio. >> very exciting playoff action. thank you, kristen. appreciate it. >> and a wave of fan support behind them. coming up, that daily hot dog. d.c. council looking at a bill to force mobile vendors to

charge sales tack. >> plus, the battle over the maryland budget may be coming to a close. lawmakers announce plans for a special session. but first, a local company develops a new test that could become a vital tool for rape victims. we're going to talk about that in our health alert.

in tonight's health alert,

an early paternity test developed by a company in columbia, maryland, worked accurately 30 out of 30 times it was tested. a report today in the new england journal of medicine showed the blood test can accurately show paternity at 8 to 14 weeks gestation. that is very early in pregnancy. the ceo tells 9news this kind of test could be a vital new tool for victims of rape. >> victims can safely find out who the father is in serious situations, such as in rape. they don't know if the pregnancy was the result of a sexual assault or because of intercourse with a consensual partner. >> couples can find out in those serious situations as we heard. an estimated 5% of rape victims become pregnant, that's about 32,000 cases a year. and researchers say many are terminated before paternity is

established. one of the biggest dangers to newborns is scarily pref lant in scarily in the united states. that's a higher rate than 130 other countries. >> yes, say i'm such a big girl. >> these days, she is happy, playful 8 month old baby. >> come on, you can do it. >> her life got off to a scary start. her mother suddenly went into labor two months early. >> i was terrified. will my baby have health problems? you see this baby in this contraption with tubes and monitors. >> she is one of half a million premature babies born in the united states each year. a new report shows the u.s. has one of the worst preterm birth rates in the world. 12%. the same rate as thailand, turkey, and somalia. one reason is that mothers here have children later in life, which leads to multiple pregnancies and that can raise the risk of early deliveries.

many preterm births are a mystery. >> we don't know, perhaps 50% of preterm births. we don't really truly know the explanation. >> report defines preterm as any time before 37 weeks gestation. the earlier the baby is delivered, the greater chance he or she will suffer lifelong health problems. >> the main issues are brain development and lung development. >> the average weight and height for her age, but she is about two months behind developmentally. >> i know her risk of having learning disabilities, having developmental delays are much higher than the average child. >> her mom is hopeful she'll catch up soon. >> real cutie. there is good news. more preemies can be saved and doctors can stop early contractions. helping moms stay pregnant as long as possible. this is 9news now. >> well newt gingrich dropped

out of the race and says he will endorse mitt romney. he promised to campaign for the man he once called a liar. gingrich and romney were in northern virginia, which could be the battleground. bruce leshan was there. >> yeah, derek, picture two cramped, loud, sweaty rooms. one here in arlington. the other in fairfax. buoyant mitt romney making the case that the obama administration has been the most antibusiness administration since jimmie carter's. at the front of the other room here in boston, a dejected newt gingrich, $4 million in debt. his dreams of the white house shattered. >> a subdued newt gingrich announced the news that had been clear for days. >> today, i'm suspending the campaign. >> he offered a ut